Author's Note: I don't own ATLA or any of its characters and this is a non-profit fanfic... So don't sue...

For any of you that are confused, I'd like to clarify some facts... Zuko is with Azula on her quest to capture Aang... Aang can only bend air, water and earth... The Gaang (including Toph) split up to meet later on Kyoshi Island... Katara doesn't "like" Aang the way he likes her and the island Aang and Ty Lee are stranded on is called Xen Qhu Island...

*Note* I came up with the name of the island... The names of people and places I come up with will have asterisks next to them...

Would You Like To Spar...?

Chapter 4: Training

A week ago...

"I'm sorry Aang, I like you but…" She mumbled.

"But you don't like me ", Aang swallowed, "That way..."

"No... I don't, I'm sorry... But we can still be friends..."

"Yeah friends..."

His voice sounded strange and his throat felt sore but it was nothing compared to what he was feeling in his chest. It felt like he had been hit with a mountain. His eyes were blurry and he was pretty sure he was going to cry so he grabbed his glider and ran out of the camp site.

He came back half an hour later with bloodshot eyes that he made sure no one saw. He barely heard Sokka when he announced that the Gaang would have to split up and meet on Kyoshi Island in a month. He did hear himself throatily telling Sokka to take Appa and Momo with him. And he remembered Sokka's hug and Toph's characteristic goodbye punch on his shoulder. He remembered Sokka, Toph and Katara climbing into Appa's saddle and Momo circling his neck affectionately before flying into the saddle too.

Toph announced that she was heading to home to see her parents and continue as defending champion at Earth Rumble Six. Sokka said he and Katara would fly north and stay with their sister tribe until the rendezvous on Kyoshi Island. They would drop Toph off at her estate before flying north.

He waited until they had flown out of sight into the setting sun before he grabbed his glider and flew off in the opposite direction they had gone. He didn't bother to check his bearings. He just kept flying. He flew until it was morning and he couldn't hold on to his glider anymore so he landed on the first island he saw. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he flung his glider into the distance with all his might and yelled out in pain. After that, he fell to the ground and fainted from exhaustion.

He woke up five days later half dead with the sun streaming into his eyes. Aang got up and looked around. He appeared to be on an island though he didn't know which island or where it was. He decided to get a better view so he jumped as high as his bending allowed and looked around. He landed without a sound and began to process what he had seen. He was on an island in the middle of the sea. The closest area of land was another island that was so far away, it looked like a pebble.

Aang decided he needed to look for his glider so he could fly his way to the closest Air Temple. He looked around and tried to remember which direction he had flung his glider in his fury. He was about to walk into the bushes to start searching when he heard someone behind him. He turned around and saw a girl clad in pink with a long ponytail standing a few feet away. Aang recognized her instantly. He had fought her before with the fire nation princess Azula, her brother and a pale girl who threw knives. Aang sighed resignedly and got into his defensive stance, ready for her attack.

Present day...

Aang started. He was awake and there was something lodged in his mouth like a pebble. He reached into his mouth and pulled out a grape. He stared at it for what seemed like an eternity before his brain came up with a reasonable explanation. He had dozed off while eating his share of the grapes. Aang looked around the cave and began to process the changes. It had stopped raining and the sun was shining bright like it was supposed to. The flowing rivulets of water had dried up and the cave was warm and dry. He was about to get up when he froze.

Aang blinked a few times before he got to his feet. The fire nation girl- Tu Lee no Ty Lee was gone. He turned around and scanned the cave again to be sure. The girl was definitely gone. Aang was about to scratch his head when he heard a dull thud.

He cocked his head and he listened to see if he would hear another one.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

He blinked rapidly and decided to investigate. Aang walked over to the covering of the cave and cautiously poked his head out to see what was making the noise. He was surprised when he saw the fire nation girl he thought was gone standing in front of a tree hitting it like it was an attacking opponent.

Aang looked around and saw that the waves were no longing tossing about. The trees looked clean and everything in sight, even the rocks looked scrubbed. The air smelt fresh and there was a pleasant breeze blowing.

Aang sighed pleasantly and came out of the cave. It was a nice day and he had a feeling it was going to get even better. Aang took a deep breath and sighed again. He smiled and began to walk to where the fire nation girl was doing whatever she was doing.

Ty Lee had finished her fruit lunch before she realized that the bald monk- Uung no, that wasn't it, Eeng no, Aang! Yes Aang had fallen asleep with a grape in his mouth. She had giggled and was about to wake him up when he began to mumble nonsense like one girl who had fallen asleep drunk at their circus one night. Ty Lee decided it'd be better if she left him to sleep. She got up and decided to stretch her legs a little. She pushed the leafy curtain aside and steeped out with her eyes closed into the open.

Ty Lee opened her eyes and squealed when she saw how beautiful everything looked. The rocks, trees and well everything looked amazing. She was enthralled by the scenery and couldn't stop herself from grinning. She was about to go into the cave to call the monk boy to come see how everything looked when something caught her attention.

She squealed again and turned on her heels to look at it properly.

"Aww, you looks so cute... I'll catch you and keep you and train you and cuddle you and fee-"

Ty Lee didn't even get to finish her sentence before the rabbit-squirrel bolted away. She didn't think, she just ran after the rabbit-squirrel as fast as she could. The rabbit-squirrel made a beeline for the safe haven of its tree and Ty Lee shot after it with a determined look on her face. She was about to catch it when it dove into a hole at the base of its tree. Ty Lee was stunned but she knew that the hole was too small for her petite frame so she tried to slow herself down so she wouldn't run into the tree but she was going too fast and the tree was too close. Ty Lee got to the tree but instead of running into it, she used her momentum to run up the tree. When she was about four feet up the tree she launched herself off the tree and spun into a backflip. She landed and huffed in frustration.

She looked up at the sky and saw the bright sun dancing lazily in the sky. If she was still on the ship she would be watching Azula and Mai train. She never trained with them because she didn't fight like them. Her fighting style was unique. She had even invented her own kata.

Ty Lee looked at the tree and reasoned that a little training wouldn't kill her. Besides she had been training every day since she joined the circus and they had travelled a lot so being stuck on an island wasn't an excuse not to train. With a serious look on her face, she faced the tree and bowed to it ceremoniously. Then she took a fighting stance and started to kick and jab at the tree. She was hitting as hard as she could. She knew her hands wouldn't hurt. They had hurt the first time she had tried training with a tree but she had persisted and had grown into it.

Aang was a few feet behind her when he stepped on a twig. It wasn't dry and it didn't break but it gave his position away with a noisy squelch. Ty Lee was about to kick the tree when she heard a wet sound behind her. Instinctively, she turned around and got into her fighting stance.

Aang was startled by how fast she had turned. He yelped and jumped back a few good feet before landing noiselessly on his feet. He straightened and grinned.

"I'm sorry I startled you", He said.

She relaxed and straightened out of her stance before she replied.

"It's okay".

He nodded. Ty Lee cocked her head to one side waiting for him to say why he had interrupted her but he just stood there grinning. Slowly she let her eyes run over his body and couldn't help but wonder how anyone could be slim and well-built at the same time. He snapped her out of her stupor when he spoke in his girlish voice.

"So… Why are you punching the tree? "

"I was training. I do it every day", She replied.

Aang nodded in understanding then he looked at the tree and frowned.

"You're hurting the tree "

Ty Lee scoffed and was about to ask him what he was talking about when she stopped and looked down at her hands. They were covered in wet tree bark but she had been too immersed in her training and thoughts to notice. She gasped and looked up at the tree.

He was right. The base of the tree trunk was covered with wounds. Sap was leaking out of some of the wounds. Ty Lee didn't recall how and when she had begun to batter the tree. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the tree she had inflicted pain on.

Aang walked over to the tree and rubbed the tree affectionately like it was an injured pet. As he was rubbing the tree, he was thinking. He knew she had to train every day to keep her form but she didn't have to kill all the trees in the forest to do it. If she sparred with him, they would both get an opportunity to train without killing the entire forest. He grinned and was about to speak but she spoke first.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know my hands would hurt the tree ", She mumbled in an apologetic tone.

Aang stopped in his tracks. She had startled him with that simple apology. He didn't expect her to apologize. On the contrary, he had expected her to laugh and be unconcerned. He had always thought that people from the fire nation were all evil and heartless but this petite girl with the long ponytail had proved him wrong. Aang observed her face and saw sincerity in her brimming eyes. She looked down when their gaze met and a smile formed slowly on his lips.

"It's okay, you didn't mean to"

Ty Lee nodded affirmatively.

"You could spar with me instead of hurting the tree", He said slowly.

Ty Lee's head jerked up when she heard what he said. She looked at him first then the wounded tree before she asked in a squeaky voice.

"You- you want to spar with me?"

Aang grinned and nodded. Then he dropped into his fighting stance and asked in a clear voice.

"Tu Lee, would you like to spar with me?"

"It's Ty Lee", she giggled, "And yes, I would Aang"

And then she got into her fighting stance with a smirk on her face.

Author's Note: I hope you like it… Review and tell me what you think…

DRAC OUT…